Sunday, August 30, 2009

A Staten Island man called 911 Thursday morning and calmly admitted to fatally shooting his wife and their cat - moments before he turned the gun on himself, police sources said.

"I shot my wife," John Pizon, 52, told the 911 operator just before 10 a.m., claiming that the shooting was inadvertent.

"Yeah, it was an accident," said Pizon, "and I shot the cats too."

Pizon then assured the 911 operator he would leave the front door of their Bulls Head home open for emergency responders - but when police arrived moments later, they found him sprawled on the floor, dead of a gunshot wound to the head.

Karan Pizon, who was shot once in the back of the head, was rushed to Staten Island University Hospital North but died an hour later.

"I came out to see the woman being carried to the ambulance," said neighbor Robert Pacifici, 52. "She looked in bad shape.

"She was all wrapped up, bleeding," he said. "I felt horrible. It was pretty sad."

Investigators believe the couple was arguing over some recent financial struggles when John Pizon, a gun collector, reached for a .22-caliber pistol and opened fire. After gunning down his wife, he also fatally shot Midnight, the couple's black cat. They owned two other cats.

A police source said Pizon had a license for the handgun but it was not immediately clear why he was permitted to have the weapon.

The couple's financial records did not reveal any bankruptcy cases or outstanding debts, but neighbors said the Pizons had recently been worried about money.

"It is very shocking," said neighbor Franny Rizzi.

Neither Pizon had a criminal record and investigators had never before been called to their rented Goller Pl. apartment on a domestic dispute, police sources said.

Neighbors said Karan Pizon was always chatty when she was feeding her cats, but her husband, a plumber, kept to himself and devoted his free time to his gun collection.

"She was very sweet," said Valerie Lopiano, 42, who lived two doors down. "He was a little odd. He collected guns so my kids were not allowed inside the house."